Butler Trust News

Last night’s BBC One Show included a feature on Butler Trust Princess Royal’s Prize winner, Officer Bernadette Hare. The show kicked off with a 5 minute video from HMP Bullingdon about Bernie and the work for which she won her Award, and she received warm applause from the studio audience afterwards.

Commenting on the piece, our Director, Simon Shepherd, said: “While it would have been good to hear from some prisoners talking about the difference staff can make, it was great to see an officer being portrayed in a positive light for a change. This shows that there is an appetite for good news stories out there, and we hope there’ll be plenty more where that came from about the many hidden heroes working in our prisons, probation and youth justice services”.

9 March 2017, St James’s Palace, London: The Butler Trust’s 32nd Annual Award Ceremony, hosted by HRH The Princess Royal, took place on 9 March, in the State Rooms at St James’s Palace.

The Princess presented 10 Awards and 19 Commendations to a total of 39 staff members and volunteers from prison and community justice settings across the UK, and the event was attended by over 200 people from across the criminal justice sector.

This year’s Princess Royal’s Prize for Outstanding Achievement (the highest Award) went to Bernadette Hare, for her exceptional work as a prison officer at HMP Bullingdon.

Commenting on her Award, Bernadette’s Governor, Ian Blakeman said:

“Bernie is an outstanding Prison Officer and I am especially grateful that the Butler Trust has recognised this exceptional work that can often go unseen. Bernie demonstrates that Prisons can be places of hope by her caring approach towards those in her care.”